Our top 10 tips for passing the CIA Exam

You’ve made up your mind to pursue certification as a Certified Internal Auditor now lets make sure you have the right tools in place to increase your chances of succeeding on the exam. Here are my top 10 tips for obtaining your certification.

 

1. Identify your goals

Before you even think about cracking open a book, taking a quiz, or even searching youtube for “how to pass the CIA exam in one week”  please do yourself a favor and identify the reason(s) why you would like to become a Certified Internal Auditor. Completing the three part exam will take time, sacrifice, dedication and of course money. Without clearly defined goals  motivation may be lost if the process of studying for the exams becomes overwhelming. Remember what initially motivated you to pursue the certification will help keep you focused when times get tough.

To help identify your motivating factors, answer this question question: Why do you want to become a certified internal auditor? Is it to land a new job that will give you more satisfaction, get a promotion that will help you live a better life financially or to acquire knowledge that will help you become a key person within your company?  What ever you reason, write it down and any time you become discourage, overwhelmed or simply lose your motivation, take a minute and read reasons for starting in the first place. Remember the key is to stay motivated and keeping your eyes on the prize will defiantly keep that fire burning.

 

2. Fund your goals

Yes yes yes,  you will have to dish out money in order to achieve your goal, but it is worth it. I need you to remember your reasons for embarking on this journey- your goals are worth the investment.

The main two expenses that you will incur are the exam fees and the cost of your study materials, but luckily there are ways to save on both. Many companies offer 100% reimbursement of the cost of taking the exam, mainly if the certification will help you perform your job better. Some companies  may also pay for the actually study course as part of their employee benefits program. Contact your human resource department to learn what sort of tuition/exam reimbursement  you may qualify for.

When purchasing your CIA study material you will usually save a few dollars by purchasing your three part exam materials in a bundles as opposed to ordering each part separately. Also you can get additional discounts for several exam prep courses when you order you study material  through CIAPrep.com.

 

3. Get started and sign up for the exam

It is so easy to procrastinate and push back your test month after month. To stay fully motivated you need to sign up for the exam and set a target date to actually sit for the exam. In order to schedule your exam you must satisfy eligibility requirements in terms of education, character, work experience, and identification. Expand the tab below to learn more about eligibility requirements.

Education requirements CIA candidates must hold a Bachelor’s degree or its equivalent, or higher. Proof of education can be submitted using: (i) a copy of your degree or official transcript, (ii) a letter from your university confirming your degree or (iii) a letter from evaluation services confirming your degree level. However, Subject to approval, candidates who do not possess a Bachelor’s degree from an accredited university may be approved if they possess: (i) 2 years post-secondary education and 5 years verified experience in internal audit or its equivalent, OR (ii) 7 years verified experience in internal audit or its equivalent.

Character requirementsTo exhibit that you are of high moral and professional character the IIA requires you to submit a “Character Reference Form” signed by a CIA, or your supervisor. This form may be found on the IIA’s website.

Work experienceWith a bachelors degree or its equivalent-  a minimum of 24 months internal auditing with a Masters degree- 12 months internal auditing. Per the IIA, you may sit for the exam prior to satisfying the professional experience requirement, but you will not be certified until all your  program requirements have been met

4. Select a study program

Now, its time to choose a CIA Review Course that suits your needs. You will find that once you start researching programs there are a ton of great options to choose from. For example: Gleim CIA review, The IIA Learn System , Wiley CIA Excel, Gryfin CIA Review Course, Hock CIA Preparation and so many more. So, how do you decide on the “right” course?

When choosing a course you have to first understand your studying style. Consider whether you learn best when using hardcopy or electronic books. Some programs offer both while other’s offer one or the other.  Next, ask yourself if you would you like access to video lectures and/or audio lectures? If your answer is yes, you should narrow your search to those that provide these options.   Some other features to evaluate include: if you have access to practice test and exam simulations, your length of access to the software, and lastly, the price of the program. In my opinion, it is best to focus on the quality and features of the program before focusing on its price.

To easily evaluate the top CIA review courses take a look at this CIA review course  comparison chart. 

 

5. Create a schedule

By this point you have identified your reasons for pursuing the CIA certification and you have selected a review course that suits your needs (hopefully you received a discount on your review course).  Now its time to begin the exciting journey of learning  a new skill that will propel your career. One of the most important things you can do to increase your chances of successfully passing the exams is making a schedule. I will say it again, one of the most important things you can do to increase your chances of successfully passing the exams is making a schedule.

Think of a schedule as a road map that will help you arrive at your final goal. A schedule will provide you with a framework on how you intend to execute the completion of each chapter resulting in the successful completion of the overall program for each exam part. Some CIA review courses offer a feature within there software to help you set up a study schedule . However, you create your schedule make sure to pencil-in downtime.

 

6. Adhere to your schedule 

This may be obvious but try your best to stick to your schedule. I say “try your best” because you may  not be able to stick to your schedule 100%. After all, things happen that our out of our control such as family emergencies, unexpected overtime, and etc  When you do fall short of adhering to your schedule  readjust and pick up additional study time to cover some ground. For example, if you have a 1.5 hour commute you can pick up 45 min during your morning  commute and maybe 45min during your afternoon commute. If you find it difficult to study during your commute you can schedule 30 min during your lunch break. Whatever the case do not beat yourself up for deviating from your schedule, but at the same time try not to deviate. Also, remember to lock in your downtime your fitness and mental health will sustain you as navigate this journey.

 

7. Be efficient

You are on a roll- your schedule is set, you stick to you’re set times and you even found a quite place to study…. but your phone goes off every 10 minutes to alert you of a new message, Facebook post or your friends funny snap. Not a social media person? Maybe you study at home and you are interrupted every few minutes by your cute child or by brief dialogue with your significant another. Whatever the case if you are distracted than your sessions are not optimized.

Efficiency is a crucial component in implementing an effective  schedule. This is true for any task you pursue but we are focusing on studying for the CIA exam. An hour of studying which includes distractions my result in only 40 minutes of studying. A loss of 20 minuets may not seem significant, but for an individual  studying three days a week for three months that is 1 hour of studying  lost  every week or 16 hours lost during the three month period. That 16 hours could be used to move on to the next part of the exam.

The main point here is to eliminate distractions while studying for the exam. Your phone should be off, you should not be logged into to any social media websites, you should not search google for any topics outside what you are studying, in fact it’s best to save all google searches to the end of your studying session s since it is so easy to get carried away with searching topics. Also, you should study in an environment that promotes efficiency. Such as library or if you need noise a place without t.v.. The goal is to make the best use of your limited time.

 

8. Find a support team

A support team/network is any individual or group of individuals that can provide you with encouragement when you feel discouraged. Although you will not be in touch with this group for encouragement on a daily basis, the benefits of such a network should not be underestimated.

While studying for my CIA exam I was consistent with my studies, I stuck to my schedule and I was like a pair of new glasses, focused!! But in certain moments I found myself feeling overwhelmed and sometimes drained.  I overcame these feeling buy opening up to my informal support network which was made up of acquaintances who were also studying for the exam and

close family & friends. I found that speaking with individuals who were also studying for the exam was very beneficial because we faced similar challenges and we were able to support one another through our experiences.

There are many ways to find a group. One place to start is on our Facebook page where we aim to provide valuable information for CIA candied and internal auditors.

 

9. Fail quizzes and be mindful of your state of mind 

Please take this tip to heart. You must be okay with failing practices quizzes. It can be extremely discouraging feeling like you are finally understanding a topic and have your quiz results reflect the opposite. To deal with this, i adopted a new mind set while preparing for the exam. I trained my mind to accept failure in the hopes of improving in the future and performing on exam day. The best time to bomb tests is while you are practicing for the real deal. Each time you fail you have the opportunity to identify your weaknesses and focus on them until they become strengths.

Here is a great quote from Carol Dweck  in her book Mindset: The New Psychology for Success “I don’t mind losing as long as I see improvement or feel I’ve done as well as I possibly could.”  Ms. Dweck would refer to this thought process as having a “growth mindset”; I call this a “Champion Mindset”. Having a Champions mindset allows you to maintain a positive outlook as you face challenges as you learn what it means to CIA. It will help you see “failures” as learning opportunities to improve and get better.

 

10. The most obvious piece of advice is to pass the CIA exam!

This is of course easier said than done, but if you put in the work and if you are properly prepared on exam day you will do well.  Part of doing well on exam day is maintaining a  champion mindset as stated above. You must also be physically prepared which includes being well rested, well nourished and hydrated,  and maintaining a comfortable posture that promotes proper blood flow (no slouching!!).  Lastly, you should have an idea of what to expect on exam day as well as on the road to completing all three parts of the program. Below is a brief description of the structure of the exams and the time frame which you have to complete all three parts.

Structure of the exam

Part 1 – Internal Auditing Basics	Part 2 Exam: Internal Audit Practice	Part 3 Exam: Internal Audit Knowledge Elements
Duration: 2.5 hours Question Count: 125	Duration: 2.0 hours Question Count: 100	Duration: 2.0 hours Question Count: 100
Topical focus areas include: • IIA Mandatory Guidance • Internal Control and Risk • Tools and Techniques for Conducting the Audit Engagement	Topical focus areas include: • Managing the Internal Audit Function • Managing Individual Engagements • Fraud Risks and Controls	Topical focus areas include: • Governance • Risk Management • Organizational Structure/ Business Processes • Communication • Leadership • IT/Business Continuity • Financial Management • Global Business Environment

Examination windowFrom the time your program application is approved you will have four years to complete pass all three parts of the CIA Exam. If  the program is not completed within that time frame you will have to retake any parts previously passed.

 

There you have it, our top 10 tips for passing the CIA exam. Leave us a comment below and let us know if you have any tips to share.